A few years back a really small book attracted my attention because of its title. I know, that is the way it usually happens. But this one title was really special: On bullshit, by Harry G. Frankfurt, moral philosopher, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Princeton University (Princeton University press, 2003). Obviously, a must-buy, must-read, must try to understand. After all, it is not everyday that such an expression is used by a moral philosopher, let alone become the subject matter of a book. The opening lines of the book read as follows:

“One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it.”

Fast forward. In a recent post Simon Wren-Lewis, a colleague at Oxford, mentioned Professor Frankfurt and his work on bullshit. Now, before reading Professor Frankfurt, Emeritus at Princeton, I would have never thought of using such language myself. If in addition, however, Wren-Lewis uses the concept, I feel like I am free to use it myself: after all, if my majors do…